Course Description

This course acquaints the learner with approaches to analysis and interpretation of contemporary art in Uganda. It provides information on the changing social and political context within which Uganda’s contemporary art is locally constituted. Founded by Mrs. Margaret Trowell in 1937, the Makerere Art School is the oldest and most influential art training institution in East Africa. The training role of this school and the key figures that have given it the impetus and direction will be discussed.  These include Gregory Maloba, Sam Ntiro, Elimo Njau, Cecil Todd, Jonathan Kingdon, Francis Nnaggenda among others. Makerere Art School has in the recent past parented several other art training institutions in Uganda and beyond. Their contribution to the shaping of Uganda’s contemporary art will also be discussed. The course further handles topical debates on the marketing systems as well as the theoretical and institutional contexts of the art of East Africa. To gain a firm grip of the contemporary art in Uganda, the learner is expected to visit galleries on a regular basis, heritage sites and access available archives collections. They will also visit art fairs, biennales and artists’ studios with the aim of enhancing knowledge and experiences in the course.

Course Objectives

This course is designed to enable the learner to:

  • 1. Identify the various approaches to the interpretation of contemporary art in Uganda.
  • 2. Apply the acquired interpretation approaches to the contemporary art Uganda and East Africa from the early twentieth-century.
  • 3. Actively participate in topical debates based on theoretical and institutional contexts of the art of Uganda in particular and East Africa in general.
Attachment Name Attachment Type
MAF 7121 Contemporary Art In Uganda DOC PDF PS